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The EC Archives: Crime Patrol Volume 1
The infamous EC Comics pre-trend crime classic is beautifully reprinted in full color and collected into a deluxe hardcover edition.
Presenting tales of horrific crimes, grisly murders, and bizarre homicide cases featuring the titanic artistic talents of Johnny Craig, Sheldon Moldoff, H. C. Keifer, Ed Walden, Ann Brewster, and Stan Ashe.
EC's "Pre-Trend" titles were published by M.C. Gaines, and then William Gaines after his father's death in 1947.
Collects Crime Patrol issues #7–#11.
Presenting tales of horrific crimes, grisly murders, and bizarre homicide cases featuring the titanic artistic talents of Johnny Craig, Sheldon Moldoff, H. C. Keifer, Ed Walden, Ann Brewster, and Stan Ashe.
EC's "Pre-Trend" titles were published by M.C. Gaines, and then William Gaines after his father's death in 1947.
Collects Crime Patrol issues #7–#11.
- GenresComics
176 pages, Hardcover
Published September 27, 2022
5 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Gardner Francis Fox
1,192 books90 followersGardner Francis Cooper Fox was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. Comic book historians estimate that he wrote more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC Comics.
Fox is known as the co-creator of DC Comics heroes the Flash, Hawkman, Doctor Fate and the original Sandman, and was the writer who first teamed those and other heroes as the Justice Society of America. Fox introduced the concept of the Multiverse to DC Comics in the 1961 story "Flash of Two Worlds!"
Pseudonyms: Gardner F. Fox, Jefferson Cooper, Bart Sommers, Paul Dean, Ray Gardner, Lynna Cooper, Rod Gray, Larry Dean, Robert Starr, Don Blake, Ed Blake, Warner Blake, Michael Blake, Tex Blane, Willis Blane, Ed Carlisle, Edgar Weston, Tex Slade, Eddie Duane, Simon Majors, James Kendricks, Troy Conway, Kevin Matthews, Glen Chase
Fox is known as the co-creator of DC Comics heroes the Flash, Hawkman, Doctor Fate and the original Sandman, and was the writer who first teamed those and other heroes as the Justice Society of America. Fox introduced the concept of the Multiverse to DC Comics in the 1961 story "Flash of Two Worlds!"
Pseudonyms: Gardner F. Fox, Jefferson Cooper, Bart Sommers, Paul Dean, Ray Gardner, Lynna Cooper, Rod Gray, Larry Dean, Robert Starr, Don Blake, Ed Blake, Warner Blake, Michael Blake, Tex Blane, Willis Blane, Ed Carlisle, Edgar Weston, Tex Slade, Eddie Duane, Simon Majors, James Kendricks, Troy Conway, Kevin Matthews, Glen Chase
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 7, 2022
It begins! Lots of rough form, experimentation and unknown artists in this early collection from the soon to be powerhouse of EC. We get exactly two stories from Johnny Craig and three from Al Feldstein in the five issues here. It should be noted some of these stories go longer (10, 11 pages) than what would come to be the standard EC page count (6, maybe 8 at most), so that's a little bonus.
Craig also does all of the rather wonderful covers, some of his most evocative. Even if they are ripping off "Crime Does Not Pay", they do so with Craig's stylistic ambition obviously outstripping his abilities, which were growing rapidly.
That ambition is very much on display in "Captain Crime", or "Field Marshall of Murder" as it's also confusingly credited. This would-be titular adventurer punches, machineguns and torches baddies, jumping out of airplanes, leading tanks and telling you how he got that scar. It's all very rough and over detailed at the same time, which actually heightens the hyper-condensed narrative. It's great stuff and refreshing for anyone who just thinks of Craig by 'the cleanest horror' reputation.
"The Slaughter Syndicate", or "Murder by Appointment" is the first story Craig is credited with writing, and the art finds him already beginning to master how much atmosphere he could get out of a few lines, allowing the color to fill the panels, which are captioned far less and contain much more continuous action than they soon would.
"Double Crossed", or "The Finger of Death" is the arrival of Al Feldstein, his first story credited as writer. His splash page is amazing, every inch of it exactly in the carved detail style his most famous drawings are known for. As a writer, he is not yet so fully formed, though it's refreshing to see the looser feel, as the tale weaves with the odd pacing, unpredictability, and lack of dialogue that mark actual crime sprees. Thematically, it's about a killer who needs a new face and gets the one he deserves, and very on point with the sense of justice, bloodthirst, bent logic and twisted humor that would come to define the EC canon.
"Dance Hall Racket", Feldstein's next story, is a retooling of a "Modern Love" story he wrote and drew called "I Was A Dime-a-Dance Hostess", which is identical except for the splash page and the last four panels. This version focuses on the criminal aspect more, and loses much of it's charm in so doing (I love Modern Love).
The next and final Feldstein work is "Victor Wolf and Sam Bart: Kidnappers", and again the splash page is classic. The story is enjoyable but not great as it cruises through nine pages of very lightly captioned action, with the slightest of twists.
And, of course, there's the other fourteen stories (many of which also appear to be titled twice). There are several other would-be titular heros such as "Van Manhatten", a blond secret agent chap who gets tied to a giant wheel in "Death by Rocket Bomb", "The Chessmen" in "Slaughter From the Sky", and "Madelon", a blond lady agent in "The Rocket and the Ruins" and "The Grotto of the Green Stone Man".
There is a giant talking squid in that last story, as in "Igor the Archer", who does his take on "The Flying Dutchman", except not at all, with a talking squid-MAN (who uses boats?)! There's a couple western themed stories, and also a little yarn called "The Werewolf's Curse". The story itself is nothing special, the artwork similar to contemporary "Crime Does Not Pay" material, but it's horror themed with a lame attempt at a twist. I found myself studying the lines of the 'Unknown' credits to see how many could plausibly be Sheldon Moldoff, the legendarily shafted artist who pitched a horror anthology to publisher Bill Gaines and would up ghost penciling elsewhere for Bob Kane, credited here once.
I would love to rate this higher, and the best of these early stories are among my favorites for those artists (Feldstein is in a three way tie for my favorite artist). I love the raw, knotty origins of pop iconography, and watching the genesis of greatness. That's on display here, but your appreciation for this will be very proportionate to your obsession with this material and the history of comics in general.
The other volumes of "War Against Crime" and, when it comes out, the second volume of "Crime Patrol" all feature more art per issue from the classic lineup than this one does. If you get the "Terror Train" book by Al Feldstein and "The Woman Who Loved Life" by Johnny Craig, they collect all those stories plus the early horror stuff (in black and white) and they are classic volumes for anyone who wants all the good stuff in more condensed form.
Craig also does all of the rather wonderful covers, some of his most evocative. Even if they are ripping off "Crime Does Not Pay", they do so with Craig's stylistic ambition obviously outstripping his abilities, which were growing rapidly.
That ambition is very much on display in "Captain Crime", or "Field Marshall of Murder" as it's also confusingly credited. This would-be titular adventurer punches, machineguns and torches baddies, jumping out of airplanes, leading tanks and telling you how he got that scar. It's all very rough and over detailed at the same time, which actually heightens the hyper-condensed narrative. It's great stuff and refreshing for anyone who just thinks of Craig by 'the cleanest horror' reputation.
"The Slaughter Syndicate", or "Murder by Appointment" is the first story Craig is credited with writing, and the art finds him already beginning to master how much atmosphere he could get out of a few lines, allowing the color to fill the panels, which are captioned far less and contain much more continuous action than they soon would.
"Double Crossed", or "The Finger of Death" is the arrival of Al Feldstein, his first story credited as writer. His splash page is amazing, every inch of it exactly in the carved detail style his most famous drawings are known for. As a writer, he is not yet so fully formed, though it's refreshing to see the looser feel, as the tale weaves with the odd pacing, unpredictability, and lack of dialogue that mark actual crime sprees. Thematically, it's about a killer who needs a new face and gets the one he deserves, and very on point with the sense of justice, bloodthirst, bent logic and twisted humor that would come to define the EC canon.
"Dance Hall Racket", Feldstein's next story, is a retooling of a "Modern Love" story he wrote and drew called "I Was A Dime-a-Dance Hostess", which is identical except for the splash page and the last four panels. This version focuses on the criminal aspect more, and loses much of it's charm in so doing (I love Modern Love).
The next and final Feldstein work is "Victor Wolf and Sam Bart: Kidnappers", and again the splash page is classic. The story is enjoyable but not great as it cruises through nine pages of very lightly captioned action, with the slightest of twists.
And, of course, there's the other fourteen stories (many of which also appear to be titled twice). There are several other would-be titular heros such as "Van Manhatten", a blond secret agent chap who gets tied to a giant wheel in "Death by Rocket Bomb", "The Chessmen" in "Slaughter From the Sky", and "Madelon", a blond lady agent in "The Rocket and the Ruins" and "The Grotto of the Green Stone Man".
There is a giant talking squid in that last story, as in "Igor the Archer", who does his take on "The Flying Dutchman", except not at all, with a talking squid-MAN (who uses boats?)! There's a couple western themed stories, and also a little yarn called "The Werewolf's Curse". The story itself is nothing special, the artwork similar to contemporary "Crime Does Not Pay" material, but it's horror themed with a lame attempt at a twist. I found myself studying the lines of the 'Unknown' credits to see how many could plausibly be Sheldon Moldoff, the legendarily shafted artist who pitched a horror anthology to publisher Bill Gaines and would up ghost penciling elsewhere for Bob Kane, credited here once.
I would love to rate this higher, and the best of these early stories are among my favorites for those artists (Feldstein is in a three way tie for my favorite artist). I love the raw, knotty origins of pop iconography, and watching the genesis of greatness. That's on display here, but your appreciation for this will be very proportionate to your obsession with this material and the history of comics in general.
The other volumes of "War Against Crime" and, when it comes out, the second volume of "Crime Patrol" all feature more art per issue from the classic lineup than this one does. If you get the "Terror Train" book by Al Feldstein and "The Woman Who Loved Life" by Johnny Craig, they collect all those stories plus the early horror stuff (in black and white) and they are classic volumes for anyone who wants all the good stuff in more condensed form.
November 21, 2023
Out of all the pre-trend books, this one is probably the weakest. That said, it's such an odd duck that it's hard not to have fun with it. The first few issues in this collection try to establish a crime-fighting team - and actual international CRIME PATROL - and it comes off more bizarre and ridiculous than thrilling. Once ditched you get the usual assortment of crime stories, with the last issue of this volume featuring a werewolf tale without any horror hosts. Crime Patrol will be transformed into THE CRYPT OF TERROR one issue past this collection, and that's history.
February 8, 2023
A look back at a time when even hardened criminals wore suits and ties to work.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews